XP Computer Wont Shut Down

I dunno if i have understood right..

But firstly u need to specify which OS u r using.

If Vista, clicking on turn off button will result in sleep or hibernate(not sure). You have to click on the button to  the right of  turn off button and then choose shutdown in the submenu. 

 

Since in ur statement u mentioned about clicking on the turn off button I assume its XP. In which case, u'll just have to wait for the forum experts to  reply..

 

If you meant clicking on turn off as pressing the power button in the laptop, u'll just have to configure it in ControlPanel->Power Options. Go here and choose what these  buttons have to do.. 

Jennifer,

Recently had the same problem with my XP Pro system.  Thought I was doing right by flashing my BIOS with the most recent version and wound up with the reboot problem you spoke of.  Somehow, the hibernation setting was changed within the updated BIOS (set to hibernate off the BIOS).  If you want hibernation to occurr, you must set it within Windows; not the BIOS.  On reboot, press the Delete key to access the BIOS Setup screen.  In there, check for any reference to hibernation.  Do not let the BIOS cause the system to hibernate.

 

Another thing or two that can cause that is faulty connections within the cabinet.  Shut the sytem down (somehow) and disconnect all connections, place it on a table and remove the side wall to gain access to the interior.  Good time to blow out all dust.  Then disconnect and reconnect ALL connections, including the interconnecting cables. 

 

The next possible item could be a memory bank going bad on you.  You would have a use a process of elimination to determine the one that's bad, after running the memory check utility from Microsoft.

 

Hope this helps.

To enter the BIOS (aka System Setup) press F2 at the Dell splash screen just after powering on the computer.

Hi Everyone,

 

Thanks so much for the replies. I went into the BIOS.Couldnt find anything with hibernatation.I went into power management and disabled the Auto Turn on and it worked.

Jennifer,

That was a good move... After your setting, did you get any error message at all prior to absolute shutdown or at any time during reboot?  If an error occurrs, the computer will freeze on the error screen.  It's called a Blue Screen.  If an error Blue Screen does show, copy down all error codes and run a search for those error codes with your browser.

 

By setting the computer to reboot on error, the problem has not been resolved.

Thanks.

 

I didnt get any error message or blue screen. When I restarted the computer everything was fine.

Jennifer,

The problem I've experienced by leaving it set for non-automatic reboot is that if you do get a Blue Screen, it may hang there... On forced shut down (manually hoding the button in), it could return immediately and you would be faced with a computer which cannot boot into neither Windows normally nor into Windows Safe Mode.  This is an uncomfortable position... Once, I could not even boot onto the Windows XP installation disk to execute a Repair function.  I was glad I couldn't actually, because it was due to a faulty connection of one of my DDR banks (memory).  That's why it was suggested that you check all internal connections before proceeding and I'm assuming you did that.

 

There are some URL's you should take a look at:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315664&sd=RMVP and

http://aumha.org/win5/kbshtdwn.php and

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_restart.htm and

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/888372 and

http://www.aumha.org/a/stop.php END

 

On this end, this thing first happened just after intalling SP-3 on my wife's computer, which happens to have an AMD Athlon CPU (Windows XP), but it's not an HP brand; I built it up myself.  Eventually solved the problem with Microsoft's help and a "Tool" they have for such purposes, taking many hours.  Lo and behold, it happened again two weeks later... This time, due the memory chip problem mentioned earlier.  That's how I gleaned all of these references.  Which begs a question...

 

Have you installed SP-3 on that computer?  It does have some issues with a few hapless computers.  Luckily, my computer (the one used to send this), did not experience any problems at all after installing SP-3.  It has an Intel processor and evidently, a Windows install which is compatible.

 

Would like to know what you've come up with.

Larry